BAC SI: A Green Beret Medic's War in Vietnam

by Robert Dumont, Jerry Krizan

During the Vietnam War, U.S. Army Special Forces A-Teams were deployed to isolated outposts or "camps” in the remote areas of South Vietnam. Their job was to recruit, train, and house members of the indigenous population while molding them into combat-ready fighting units. A-Teams consisted of up to 12 Green Beret soldiers who were experts in both combat and their individual military specialties. The role of the indigenous units, in conjunction with their American advisors, was to provide border security, counter the Viet Cong insurgency in the countryside, provide intelligence on enemy troop-strength and activities, and when necessary engage elements of the invading North Vietnamese Army.

Bac Si (the Vietnamese term for “medic”) is the story of Sgt. Jerry Krizan who was assigned to Special Forces Camp A-331 in the III Corps tactical zone, only 10 miles from the Cambodian border. Because of its proximity to a major north-south NVA infiltration route, there were constant enemy troop movements through the camp's area of operations and A-331 itself came under attack on more than one occasion.

The author meantime needed to accompany patrols and probes into enemy territory, not only prepared to provide aid but fight as a soldier if the squad was ambushed, or itself chose to attack. In this small-unit warfare against an expert enemy, U.S. soldiers had to survive as best they could, with their only succor a Huey, and meantime on the ground by themselves against unknown opposition.

Our Green Beret base camps were our very first line of defense along the borders of South Vietnam, and in this book, through the eyes of a medic, we learn how dire, and confusing, a role we asked our Special Forces to play during that era.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Foreword by Joe Parnar
Introduction—Background

The Journey to Special Forces
Arrival at Loc Ninh
First Contact
Running Through Rubber
Right There
Chieu Hoi by the KKK
Battle of Loc Ninh
Loc Ninh, September 1968
An Execution
Operations in the Rubber
Adventures at Village 2
Thanksgiving Dinner
Medical Duties in Camp
Medical MEDCAPS
Camp Sanitation
Dry Season/Typhoid
Claymores, Ambushes, and Hand Grenades
Camp Defenses and Attacks
New Directions of the War
Helicopter Attack
Chinese Claymores
Ambush at An Loc
Recon
Incoming at An Loc
Team With a Tank
Song Be Officers Club
Celebrities
Three Times
Going Home

Epilogue—After Vietnam
Appendix A— The Battle of Loc Ninh, April 1972
Appendix B—The Battle of An Loc

Genres: Military Fiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2014

Reviews

[Kaylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm very proud to say my uncle wrote this book. It was apart of his therapy for his PTSD. He didn't talk about Vietnam much, so reading this gave me some insight into why he did what he did, and why he had trouble speaking about it. He died November 14, 2014 and has been dearly missed. I'm so happy he got to tell his story his way through this book. His memory lives on forever.

[Meirav Rath · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick and interesting read.
I don't know much about the Vietnam war, but I believe this perspective provides a good look into many of its aspects - the tedious patrols in the jungle, the equipment, the relationships with the local population be it native fighters or civilians, the usual stories of military bullsh$t and equipment scrounging and the jungles all around.

One of the reviews here say the author wrote the book as his way to deal with his PTSD and so both the readers and him got something good out of it.

[Doyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good memoir from a US Special Forces medic in Vietnam. One walks away with an understanding of how legally medics would carry weaponry as compared to other medics. An understanding of earlier operations before counter-culture started in the US. An understanding of the A-team life embedded with CIDs etc. Definitely a good read for anyone wanting to get a peek at where Special Operations Medicine began and how to incorporate within counter-guerilla operations.

[Larry Hetland · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best Nam experiences written

Damn good and true experience. One of the best stories about " the best in Nam" Well worth the purchase

[Alan Van Bladel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

This was a good readable book. Kept me interested in what was next. When it seemed to slow down, it picked up again.

[Edgar M Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

SF aidman remembers.

I served as a SF medic in I Corps in 1970. It's remarkable how similar my experiences were. Brings back many memories. Accurate account of that life.

[CG Gebhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Combat medic

Narrative of Special Forces as advisors with insights into a mix of Vietnamese Cambodian and former Viet Minh nationalities. Quite a challenge for one E-5.

[Bill Elston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting story from a little different perspective

Very good story from the perspective of a SF medic. The author, Krizan had an experience and perspective different from a regular grunt and brought lots of mental pictures to the forefront. Thank you for your service, hope you are doing well!